Carthage fertilizer plant owner disputes State Fire Marshal’s claim

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Carthage, Tx (Longview News-Journal) — The owner of an East Texas fertilizer plant that stores ammonium nitrate said Tuesday that he never refused to give state inspectors access to his facility.

Bob Anderson, owner of Anderson Fertilizer and Milling Co. in Carthage, also said he’s “not scared” of the potentially unstable chemical compound that’s blamed for the deadly explosion earlier this year in West.

In testimony Monday to the state House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety, State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said five facilities have turned away inspectors since the West explosion.

Anderson said he declined to respond to survey requests from a caller who didn’t represent any of the state agencies Anderson is mandated to comply with.

“I told him, ‘Look, I’m a busy man,’ ” Anderson said.

Anderson said he didn’t know until Tuesday morning that the survey was being conducted statewide on behalf of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

“I thought this was just a bunch of punks trying to come out here and tell me how to run my business since the explosion in West,” he said.

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